1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a tray and, in particular, to a tray which is mountable to a wheelchair and can be pivoted or swiveled with respect thereto.
2. Description of the Related Art
Numerous individuals are permanently confined to wheelchairs or rely upon wheelchairs during a period of convalescence. While wheelchairs greatly enhance the mobility of such handicapped or convalescing persons, wheelchairs have the disadvantage that they can not be brought into close proximity to tables or desks. This makes eating, writing and other activities which require a rigid surface in close proximity to the individual difficult. Some individuals who use wheelchairs place a tray in their lap or across the arms of the wheelchair so that it is possible to eat and write with ease. However, such precariously balanced trays do not provide a stable surface for the user and can easily be dislodged and fall to the floor, spilling their contents. This is not only annoying to the wheelchair user but one confined to a wheelchair can rarely retrieve such a fallen tray, much less the objects originally carried thereby. Thus the wheelchair user is left without food, drink and/or other materials which were carried by the tray.
It has been proposed that a tray or a table-like assembly be mounted to the arm or arms of a wheelchair, for example, in a manner which prevents it from falling or moving out of reach of the user. The disadvantage of such fixedly mounted trays is that once the individual has finished the meal or the tasks for which the tray is needed and the tray is no longer desired, the same cannot be easily removed from in front of the individual.
Other wheelchair and tray combinations are configured so that the tray or table can be moved out from in front of user. However, those trays are typically moved out of the way by turning the same from a horizontal disposition to a vertical disposition and stowing the same by the side of the wheelchair. While such trays can be advantageous, they also have the disadvantage that objects can no longer be carried thereby as soon as the tray is moved to an out-of-the-way position. In addition, the locking and release mechanisms for such tray assemblies generally require a great deal of manual dexterity and/or strength and may be difficult if not impossible for a convalescing or handicapped individual to operate.
It would therefore be desirable to provide a simply constructed and easily operated tray which can be selectively placed in front of an individual in a wheelchair to support plates, glasses, writing materials and the like and moved away from in front of the user so that the user can exit the wheelchair or otherwise be free from obstruction, while still carrying the dishes, glasses and/or writing materials thereon. Thus, with such a tray the user can easily selectively place the tray back into operative position and continue to use the materials disposed thereon.
It would further be desirable to provide such a pivotal or swingable tray which is easy to manipulate by the user so that a great deal of manual dexterity is not required to place the same into operative or inoperative position.
Even further, it would be desirable to provide a tray for a wheelchair wherein the tray can be quickly and easily removed from the wheelchair and selectively reattached thereto so that the tray can be removed when the wheelchair is folded and/or for cleaning. Likewise, it would be desirable to provide such an easily removed wheelchair tray so that one assisting an individual in a wheelchair can carry items to the wheelchair user on the tray and then attach the tray to the wheelchair after which the individual in the wheelchair can selectively place the tray into operative or inoperative position.